Alpine Lake for merely dreaming we were snow

A small, clawed hand brushed his tail off his nose, and groggily he tried to open his eyes. Then, the creature used said hand to wrench open an eyelid. Sable snorted, his head shooting up and dislodging the rodent, who squeaked in protest from the sudden flight.

Sable blinked his affected eye several times, raising his leg to rub across his stinging eyelid. The chipmunk chattered, scampering up his shoulder and resting there to get close to his ear, voice sending sparks of bubblegum pink across his vision. Sullen, snappy, the almost-yearling turned to snip his teeth at the chipmunk. It didn’t deter the precocious rodent, who merely bared yellowed teeth.

He groaned.

Outsmarted by a tree rat, he grumbled, truly, you are an apex predator